I’m not very optimistic about this weekend. Another area of low pressure is due to move across Britain, bringing further persistent rain.

What a turnaround we’ve seen in recent weeks. There’s nothing unusual about the British weather flipping a switch into a completely different regime, but it is still very frustrating for us golfers just when we’d dusted off the short sleeves!

We’ve seen around 100mm so far this month, in contrast to much drier than average conditions through January and February. Daytime temperatures on every day of March have been cooler than each day in the last week of February.

Rain comes in again on Friday night, and is likely to be on and off much of Saturday, with brisk winds too. Another 15-20mm, perhaps more, is due to fall in 12-18 hours, so the already wet course is going to be rather soggy. Max 8 to 10C.

Chillier air digs in overnight into Sunday, with scope for snow to come back down into Buxton, leaving some icy hazards into Sunday morning. This will soon thaw again as temperatures lift back to 5C during the day, but it will be a day of showers. A frost is possible for Monday morning as skies clear overnight.

There’s a glimmer of improvement ahead for next week, as Atlantic weather systems start to drift further north. Rainfall amounts will decrease, and there will be longer drier periods. A southwesterly regime persists though, so some rain or drizzle will occur from time to time. Temperatures will be milder, up to 10 to 12C through midweek, and frost rare or only slight.

I’m not quite convinced we’re out of the woods for poor weather this March, but things are looking better at least!

Keep your waders handy, there’s more of the wet stuff on the way.A glimmer of improvement ahead?